Nebraska’s gambling legislature is being discussed as a possible relaxation of the rules could result in million-dollar tax breaks.
The special session was led by Governor Jim Pillen, who has been a leading voice in the topical arena of state gambling laws. He is, alongside other colleagues, aiming to take the burden of heavy property tax off the residents of the Cornhusker state and in place loosen gambling restrictions to ease the strain on the taxpayer.
The process gambling advocates have put forward has been initially outlined through new legislation (LB13 and LR3CA). According to the Nebraska legislature’s official news source, Senator Eliot Bostar is one such fervent supporter of dropping property taxes and reaping the rewards of new gambling laws.
Senator Bostar proposed the bill to “change the distribution of taxes collected from sports wagering and change requirements relating to proposals for constitutional amendments submitted by the Legislature.”
Nebraska looking at million-dollar gambling tax boon
Nebraska currently runs a tight ship when it comes to the multi-million dollar profits that gambling taxes can generate.
According to GeoComply, a site dedicated to halting illegal gamblers, millions of residents are attempting to wager illegally. In Nebraska, these individuals are trying to bet via virtual private networks (VPNs), which allows them to bypass these restrictions.
The site said that from June 2023 through to June 2024 the website shut down gamblers in the region of 4.5 million attempts to bet illegally. The digital barrier in place is called a geofence, which enforces existing legislation that prohibits the betting of online gaming and sports betting.
One thing that must be noted is that those 4.5 million attempts that have been captured show interest across a year for just a small sample size of the bettors caught. It earmarks a desire for some residents in the state for legalization or a loosening of restrictions on gambling.
According to LB13, the case made says its “important to authorize and impose a tax upon the gross gaming of sports wagering by means of an online sports wagering platform in order to create a property tax relief program to reduce the tax liability of property taxes paid to support public education.”
It will be up to the people of Nebraska to let the gambling laws loosen or keep the high property taxes that fund the state’s well-being. Only time will tell and the voices at the ballot box in November.
Image: Pixlr.
